Sputtering device

ABSTRACT

The invention is, for the purpose of putting on or taking off a target and an earth shield easily without spoiling a vacuum condition, to provide a sputtering device comprising at least a vacuum container, a substrate holder installing in said vacuum container, a substrate set on said substrate holder, a target using opposite to said substrate and a sputtering electrode, wherein: said sputtering electrode is constituted of: an electrode base portion having a first screw portion formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof; an electrode body portion having a second screw portion engaging with said first screw portion and having a third screw portion; a back plate portion having: a fourth screw portion engaging with said third screw portion and installing said target; and an earth shield portion provided around said electrode base portion, said electrode body portion and said back plate portion at a specific space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a sputtering device comprising at least a vacuum chamber, a substrate holder installed in the vacuum chamber, a substrate put on the substrate holder, a target using opposite to the substrate, and a sputtering electrode.

Hitherto, as shown in figures of JP H11-36068 A, a cathode unit is screwed to a vacuum chamber by bolts, and parts constituting the cathode unit are fixed with one another by bolts or screws respectively.

As mentioned above, in the prior sputtering device, a back plate on which a target is bonded is changed regularly, but getting-on and taking-off of the back plate is achieved due to getting on or talking off bolts or screws, so that number of man-hour necessary for getting-on and taking-off of the back plate in a device for mass production, in which frequent getting-on and taking-off progress is required, becomes large, because number of bolts or screw is increased when a targets becomes large or a plurality of targets are installed. Besides, tightening of each screw must be done carefully because an O ring must be pressured equally from holding a vacuum condition on the occasion of the screw stop. The problem such that a vacuum leak occurs may arise when tightening to the O ring is not equal any more.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is to provide a spattering device which can put on or take off a target and an earth shield easily without spoiling a vacuum condition.

Accordingly, the present invention is such that, in a sputtering device comprising at least a vacuum container, a substrate holder installed in the vacuum container, a substrate set on the substrate holder, a target used opposite to the substrate and a sputtering electrode installing the target, the sputtering electrode includes an electrode base portion having a first screw portion formed on an outer circumferential surface, an electrode body portion having a second screw portion screwed with the first screw portion and a third screw portion, a back plate portion having a fourth screw portion screwing with the third screw portion and installing a target, and an earth shield portion provided around the electrode base portion, the electrode body portion and the back plate portion at a specific space.

Moreover, it is desirable that a magnet is arranged between the electrode body portion and the electrode base portion, and it is desirable that cooling water is supplied between the back plate portion and the electrode body portion.

Furthermore, it is desirable that the first screw portion is an outside spiral the second screw portion is an inside spiral, but the first screw portion may be an inside spiral and the second screw portion may be an outside spiral.

Besides, it is desirable that the third screw portion is formed on a circular groove dented in an axial direction from an end surface of the electrode body portion and the fourth screw portion is formed on a circular wall portion projected in an axial direction from the back plate portion.

Moreover, it is desirable that the earth shield portion is fixed by screwing a fifth screw portion formed on the vacuum container or a projecting portion of the vacuum container with a sixth screw portion formed on an inner end portion of the earth shield portion.

According to the present invention, since structure so as to fix the earth shield portion, the back plate portion, the electrode body portion and the electrode base portion by screwing is taken, large decrease of number of man-hour in fixing by screws or bolts and shorting of m maintenance hours at changing a target can be achieved, so that production performance can be increased.

Moreover, sealing performance by the O ring is also never spoilt and conductivity between the electrode base portion and the electrode body portion and between the electrode body portion and the back plate portion can be kept favorably and the stability of sputtering electric discharge can be secured, so that the reliability of the device can be increased and reappearance can be raised.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sputtering device according to a working mode of the present invention.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following is explained about a working mode of the invention by referring a drawing.

In a sputtering device 100 according to the working mode of the invention, a vacuum container 1 is constituted of an upper cover 11, side wall portions 31 and a floor portion 21 and defines a vacuum chamber 40 in its inner side. An outlet for vacuum 2 is formed at anyone of the side wall portions 31 of the vacuum container 1, so that gas in the vacuum chamber 40 can be exhausted by a vacuum exhaust pump not shown in a figure. Furthermore, gas supply unit 17 is provided at anyone of the side wall portions 31 of the vacuum container 1, so that a desirable gas such as an argon gas can be introduced into the inner side of the vacuum chamber 40. Besides, the upper cover 11, the side wall portions 31 and the floor portion 21 of the vacuum container 1 are grounded respectively.

A substrate holder 3 is provided in the vacuum chamber 40 inside the vacuum container 1 and a substrate 4 is set on the substrate holder 3. A sputtering electrode 200 with a target 5 is provided in a position opposite to the substrate 4.

The sputtering electrode 200 is constituted of at least an insulated portion 10 which is fixed to a boss portion for installation formed in the upper cover 11 by screws 32, an electrode base portion 9 fixed on the insulated portion 10 by screws 33, an electrode body portion 8 fixed via a first screw fixing portion 20 to the electrode base portion 9, a back plate portion 6 fixed via a second screw fixing portion 18 to the electrode body portion 8 and fixing the target 5, magnets 7 arranged between the electrode body portion 8 and the electrode base portion 9, and an earth shield 12 provided so as to surround the insulated portion 10, the electrode base portion 9, the electrode body portion 8, the back plate portion 6 and the target 5. Besides, the earth shield 12 is fixed to the boss portion 22 by a third screw fixing portion 19. Accordingly, the electrode base portion 9 and the electrode body portion 8 are screwed by the first screw fixing portion 20, and the electrode body portion 8 and the back plate portion 6 are screwed by the second screw fixing portion 18, so that conductivity between them can be kept in a good condition in a simple structure thereof.

Cooling water is supplied to a cooling space 15 defined between the back plate portion 6 and the electrode body portion 8 via an intake for cooling water 15 a and an outlet for cooling water 15 b to control heat increase of spatter electric discharge in the sputtering electrode 200. Besides, an electric power supply unit 30 for supplying DC current or high frequency electric power is connected to the electrode base portion 9. Concretely, one electrode of the electric power supply unit 30 (a negative pole side in this working mode) is connected to the electrode base portion 9, and another electrode of the electric power supply unit 30 (a positive pole side in this working mode) is connected to the vacuum container 1 via an earth portion 16.

The first screw fixing portion 20 is constituted of an outside spiral portion formed on an outer surface of an outer circumferential wall portion 23 of the electrode base portion 9 and an inside spiral portion formed on an inner surface of the outer circumferential wall portion 26 of the electrode body portion 8. Furthermore, a space in which the magnets 7 are arranged and the vacuum chamber 40 are cut off each other in pressure via an O ring 14 at an end of an engaging portion thereof.

The second screw fixing portion 18 is constituted of an outside spiral portion formed on one side surface of a circular groove portion 25 which is formed concavely and circularly on a surface of the electrode body portion 8 to the back plate portion 6 and an inside spiral portion formed on one side of a circular wall portion 61 which is formed convexly and circularly from a portion opposite to the circular groove portion 25 of the back plate portion 6. Besides, an outer wall portion 62 is formed on an outer portion of the back plate portion 6, so that the outer wall portion 62 is engaged outside a part of the outer circumferential wall portion 26 of the electrode body portion 8 and the outside engaged portion is sealed by an O ring 13 to cut off between the cooling space 15 in which the cooling water is supplied and the vacuum chamber 40 in pressure.

The third screw fixing portion 19 is constituted of an outside spiral portion formed on an outer surface of the boss portion 22 and an inside spiral portion formed on an inner surface of the earth shield 12.

Besides, it is not necessary to define the outside spiral portion and the inside spiral portion especially, the reverse case may exist if screwing is constituted.

As the above constitution, it becomes easy to put on or take off the earth shield 12 and the back plate portion 6 which were fixed by screws or etc., so that changing the target 5 can be easy.

Besides, it can also be easy to put on or take off the back plate portion 6 and the electrode body portion 8, so that maintenance of the device can be facilitated. 

1. A sputtering device comprising at least a vacuum container, a substrate holder installing in said vacuum container, a substrate set on said substrate holder, a target using opposite to said substrate and a sputtering electrode, wherein: said sputtering electrode is constituted of: an electrode base portion having a first screw portion formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof; an electrode body portion having a second screw portion engaging with said first screw portion and having a third screw portion; a back plate portion having a fourth screw portion engaging with said third screw portion and installing said target; and an earth shield portion provided around said electrode base portion, said electrode body portion and said back plate portion at a specific space.
 2. A sputtering device according to claim 1, wherein: magnets are arranged between said electrode body portion and said electrode portion.
 3. A sputtering device according to claim 1, wherein: cooling water is supplied between said back plate portion and said electrode body portion.
 4. A sputtering device according to claim 1, wherein: said first screw portion is an outer spiral; and said second screw portion is an inner spiral.
 5. A sputtering device according to claim 1, wherein: said third screw portion is formed in a circular groove portion concaving in an axial direction from an end surface of said electrode body portion; and said fourth screw portion is formed on a circular wall portion projecting in an axial direction from said back plate portion.
 6. A sputtering device according to claim 1, wherein: said earth shield portion is secured by engaging a fifth screw portion formed on said vacuum container or a projecting portion of said vacuum container with a sixth screw portion formed on an inner circumferential end portion thereof.
 7. A sputtering device according to claim 2, wherein: cooling water is supplied between said back plate portion and said electrode body portion.
 8. A sputtering device according to claim 2, wherein: said first screw portion is an outer spiral; and said second screw portion is an inner spiral.
 9. A sputtering device according to claim 2, wherein: said third screw portion is formed in a circular groove portion concaving in an axial direction from an end surface of said electrode body portion; and said fourth screw portion is formed on a circular wall portion projecting in an axial direction from said back plate portion.
 10. A sputtering device according to claim 2, wherein: said earth shield portion is secured by engaging a fifth screw portion formed on said vacuum container or a projecting portion of said vacuum container with a sixth screw portion formed on an inner circumferential end portion thereof.
 11. A sputtering device according to claim 3, wherein: said first screw portion is an outer spiral; and said second screw portion is an inner spiral.
 12. A sputtering device according to claim 3, wherein: said third screw portion is formed in a circular groove portion concaving in an axial direction from an end surface of said electrode body portion; and said fourth screw portion is formed on a circular wall portion projecting in an axial direction from said back plate portion.
 13. A sputtering device according to claim 3, wherein: said earth shield portion is secured by engaging a fifth screw portion formed on said vacuum container or a projecting portion of said vacuum container with a sixth screw portion formed on an inner circumferential end portion thereof.
 14. A sputtering device according to claim 4, wherein: said third screw portion is formed in a circular groove portion concaving in an axial direction from an end surface of said electrode body portion; and said fourth screw portion is formed on a circular wall portion projecting in an axial direction from said back plate portion.
 15. A sputtering device according to claim 4, wherein: said earth shield portion is secured by engaging a fifth screw portion formed on said vacuum container or a projecting portion of said vacuum container with a sixth screw portion formed on an inner circumferential end portion thereof.
 16. A sputtering device according to claim 5, wherein: said earth shield portion is secured by engaging a fifth screw portion formed on said vacuum container or a projecting portion of said vacuum container with a sixth screw portion formed on an inner circumferential end portion thereof.
 17. A sputtering device according to claim 7, wherein: said first screw portion is an outer spiral; and said second screw portion is an inner spiral.
 18. A sputtering device according to claim 17, wherein: said third screw portion is formed in a circular groove portion concaving in an axial direction from an end surface of said electrode body portion; and said fourth screw portion is formed on a circular wall portion projecting in an axial direction from said back plate portion.
 19. A sputtering device according to claim 18, wherein: said earth shield portion is secured by engaging a fifth screw portion formed on said vacuum container or a projecting portion of said vacuum container with a sixth screw portion formed on an inner circumferential end portion thereof.
 20. A sputtering device according to claim 14, wherein: said earth shield portion is secured by engaging a fifth screw portion formed on said vacuum container or a projecting portion of said vacuum container with a sixth screw portion formed on an inner circumferential end portion thereof.
 21. A sputtering device according to claim 20, wherein: magnets are arranged between said electrode body portion and said electrode portion.
 22. A sputtering device according to claim 20, wherein: cooling water is supplied between said back plate portion and said electrode body portion. 